Yesterday I was visiting a friend and I noticed a Black couple in a movie on his TV and asked him "what movie is that?" He told me the name of the flick which I promptly forgot, because he also said it was on Amazon Prime. I replied, "Well that is one movie I'm not watching, because Amazon is not getting a penny of my money." Generously, the Brother offered me his login, so when I got back home I logged in to see what Prime had to offer.
The first thing that popped up was this brand new flick One Night in Miami, A fictionalized account of an evening that Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), Sam Cooke, Jim Brown, and Malcolm X spent with each other after Clay defeated Sonny Liston for boxing's heavyweight title. It was one of the best films I've seen in a long time; an excellent character study that brilliantly showcased the struggles, triumphs, and often conflicting ideologies of these four legendary Brothers.
It humanized these young men brilliantly, providing an interesting perspectives on many things including the origin of Sam Cook's iconic song, A Change is Gonna Come; Ali's condemnation of Malcolm X for leaving the Nation of Islam; Jim Brown's views of activism versus economic empowerment; all in a world of overt and institutionalized white racism. The knowledge two of these men would be murdered within the year, made the story even more poignant.
This film also marks Regina King’s directorial debut.
I see the film is in theaters now. I say "mask up" and check it out!